Halo: A Long time Coming
by Soul's Release
Summary: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in the Halo universe? I do; well I did a long time ago. 538 years ago to be exact. But then something happened to me that changed my entire world...
1. A Bump On The Head

Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or any of its characters and/or concepts. All copyrights go to Bungie Studios and 343 Industries.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in the Halo universe? I do; well I did a _long _time ago. 538 years ago to be exact. But then something happened to me that changed my entire world...

**CHAPTER 1**

**December 1,2014**

"Dude, quit hogging the Xbox, Seth. I want to play Halo. You've been playing for 3 hours!"

I looked at my younger brother with the sternest face I could conjure up but he looked back at me with his trademark style Troll-face. I couldn't help but laugh at his stupid face. "Dude, I'm serious don't make me flip the circuit breaker again."

My brother sighed at me hoping I would shut up and let him play, but unfortunately for him I wasn't backing down this time. He had chores to do and I wanted to majorly kick some Covenant ass.

"But, I'm just about to finish this match of Team Deathmatch," he whined back at me.

"I don't care if you're in the middle of having a tea party. Mom said she has some chores for you. Now go, I'll finish your game and save your stats for you."

"Fine, you better not lose the match," he said finally getting off the game.

I grinned. "Oh I don't plan on it; besides when have I ever done that to you?"

"Let's see, oh, how about an hour ago when I was doing laundry."

"Whatever, go before mom gets pissed."

I sat down on my bed as I picked up my Halo 4 limited edition Xbox control and finished his lame game of COD. I heard the loud barking of my dogs. They were fighting again, but it sounded a lot rougher that normal. I tried to ignore them as I booted up Halo 3 and began a game of Swat, however it sounded like a war was going on downstairs. I paused my game and went downstairs to see if I could calm them down. I reached the bottom of the stairs and saw a pretty normal sight. Once again my dog Bastion was rough-housing with his daughter Mara-Jade. As usual, they were running around the living room and barking really loud. As Bastion came towards the foot of the stairs, I stepped out in front of him and attempted to stop him.

"HEY, Bastion, calm the fuck down, NOW!" I yelled at him hoping that the tone of my voice would scare him enough to make him stop; unfortunately for me he just ignored me and continued to chase Mara. I watched as they both circled the recliner one more time and stepped directly in front of Bastion.

"I SAID CALM DOWN-"

I never got to finish my sentence. I didn't know at the time, but Bastion was going too fast and couldn't stop. Instead I ended up being used as an airbag as he charged directly into my legs, knocking me over. Unfortunately I was standing in the one spot that if I fell back, I would end up landing in the middle of the hard-wood floor next to the front door. I fell back for what seemed like forever. When I finally hit the floor I heard a loud crack and everything went black.

**So there's Chapter 1, guys! I hope that you like it. I should be starting on chapter 2 shortly, so leave your comments and let me know what you think I should do to fix anything or just some general ideas.**

**Thanks!**

**SR**


	2. Wake Me, When You Need Me

Over the next few days I was unconscious quite a bit; but from what I remember I was taken to the hospital almost immediately after I fell. The doctors told my family that I had sustained a huge break in the bones of my skull and that there was a very high chance I could die. My dad was able to get the doctors to do an experimental surgery that would save me, but it would be a long time before I could leave the hospital again.

"I don't care, I just want my son to survive, even if I end up paying for it forever," he told the doctors. My dad was stubborn that way.

"We'll do what we can. In the meantime, why don't you folks find a place to spend the night," replied the surgeon.

I vaguely remember going to the operating room. There were a lot of bright lights and a bunch of machines I couldn't really make out, my head was screaming in pain and that wasn't helping my vision. It felt like my head had been hit with a trash compactor, I couldn't focus on anything for a long period of time, my vision was shit, and I had a headache that was worse than anything I had ever felt. I was about to pass out when the surgeon appeared over me.

"Schyler, can you hear me?" he asked with concern.

I was in so much pain I couldn't speak, only raise my thumb in an attempt to tell him I could hear him. He nodded so I assumed he knew.

"Schyler, we are going to do what we can to help, but it won't be the most conventional way due to the severity of your injuries. What we're going to do is put you under and take off the top three inches of your skull and then staple a replacement over it. However in order for you to heal we'll need to cryogenically freeze you to make sure nothing goes wrong with the surgery. I'm sorry but it looks like your going to be missing Christmas."

I could tell he was trying to make me feel better by making a joke about missing Christmas. Once again I slowly raised my thumb to tell him to go ahead a do it. Almost immediately I felt a needle enter my arm and an extremely cold liquid flow through it. I started to count backwards from ten in my head and relax. However, I was only able to get to four.

* * *

><p><span><strong>December 15, 2014<strong>

**University Of Iowa Hospital...**

"Hey, Schy, it's me, Seth."

My brother approached a large white box with a small bag in his hand. It had been two weeks since my surgery, and one week since I had been put into a Cryogenic Preservation Bed, or CPB. My brother had visited me almost five time since. Each time he had brought something to do with me, or at least with my 'bed.' Today was no different.

"I brought you someone. A certain fuzzy friend of yours," he said as he pulled something small out of the bag. He placed the object on the top and sat down. "Wolfie missed you. So I thought I would bring him up for you in case you woke up."

He sat in the chair silently for the longest time. He looked around the room hoping I could hear him.

"I also got you an early birthday present at home. A brand new Xbox One," he said softly.

He looked at his pocket and pulled out his phone.

*Sigh*

"I got to go, bro, mom's waiting outside. I'll see you tomorrow."

Seth stood up and gave my bed a kiss, which never happened unless he was really upset. He stood up and pet the stuffed dog and left the room, leaving the only brother he had with his toy.

* * *

><p><span><strong>January 13, 2017<strong>

**U.I.H.**

A tall slender man with slightly gray hair stepped into a chrome colored room and began to examine many different machines that surrounded a large silver box.

"How are we doing today, kiddo?"

Dr. Forpast recorded many different things onto his clipboard as he examined the box in the room with him.

"Happy 22nd birthday bud. Seems like your body just isn't like the other cryo patients, huh?" He looked into the small window on the top of the box and looked at the young face within.

"You missed something big last week. Apparently Russia declared war upon the US again. Kind of concerning, huh?"

Dr. Forpast looked out the window of the hospital room at the many vehicles driving around on the roads below.

As the young doctor continued to stare outside he look up as he saw a large black object falling from the sky.

"I wonder what that is..." He said to himself.

Within moments the entire outside burst into flames as a large carpet bomb shattered near the hospital. Soon the entire hospital was in chaos as doctors raced to save patients. My box was left alone however. I was left under the rubble of my room and forgotten for a long time. Luckily when the bomb hit the only thing damaged was the room itself. Everything else just fell into the road and was buried with the power outlets still intact.

I was down there for a long time I guess, because when the power failed and I woke up, _everything_ was different.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey sorry about the length of this chapter. I just wanted to get through the PRE-HALO stuff. Next chapter should sound more like Halo.<strong>

**Anyways, be sure to leave your comments and suggestions.**

**THANKS!**

**SR**


	3. Revielle

**May 17, 2545**

**Earth, Underneath Streets Of Iowa City, Iowa**

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Cryogenic sequence failure! Repeat: Cryogenic sequence failure! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Underneath the streets of Iowa City a small black beat-up old box began to flash red with warning lights as a series of alarms began to sound. Smoke began to emanate from the sides as the top of the box began to raise itself upwards. After it reached an incline of 45 degrees, it stopped moving and the alarms subsided. The smoke continued to flow in large amounts as a hand emerged.

* * *

><p>-<em>Repeat: Cryogenic sequence failure!<em>

"Ohh, Mom, turn of the alarm. Give me five minutes!

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

I opened my eyes as I heard a faint hissing noise. Everything was blurry and it took me a minute to be able to focus on anything but my vision finally cleared up and I saw a low, brown, moldy ceiling above whatever I was laying in. Wherever I was it wasn't the Hospital, that much was certain. I raised my hand and gripped the sides of the cold padded box. As I pulled myself up into a sitting position I noticed a small gray toy in the corner of the box.

"Wolfie? What the hell? Where am I, and how did you get here?'

I picked up my stuffed friend and pulled myself onto the edge of the box. I was really weak I soon learned as I became nauseous just as soon as I attempted to stand up.

_Okay, slow down. I've got to take it slow. Maybe I can salvage some of the lights from this box and find out where I am._

I turned around and examined the contents of my bed. there were a few lights exposed and a bunch of wiring that I could fashion into a make-shift flashlight. So I decided to set Wolfie back in his corner and got to work on taking things apart and putting them back together. As I worked I began to hum the theme song to Halo, in order to keep from getting bored. It was tedious work, but I needed to find my way out of here.

Finally, I finished working and held up my light to test it. At first it wouldn't even power up, but after hitting it on the box a couple of times, it turned on. Satisfied with my work, I picked up my buddy and made my way out of there. As I walked down the old creepy halls I saw old pieces of art, stacks of paper, some weird looking medical tools. I continued making my way through the hospital and noticed a small closet with what looked like clothes inside. I put my flashlight on the ground and tried to open the door.

As I thought, the door was locked. But the lock looked as though it could fall out of the door at anytime. I braced myself as I prepared to break down the door and backed up. I began charging at the door, and eventually after about three or four times the lock shattered.

_Wow, that things was pretty old, if it just disintegrated, basically,_ I thought to myself. I grabbed my light and Wolfie, who had fallen off of my shoulder and went inside to get some clothes. As I browsed the dusty contents of the closet I thought about how long this room had to have been locked in order for the lock to become that old. My guess was at least 30 years, which if that were the case I would be 48 years old, depending on how long it had been since the door had last been worked on. Once I got dressed in some scrubs that were more or less my size, I stepped back out into the hall and looked around. On the left side was a cave in, which was where my box was. Directly ahead was pure black, probably just a huge network of hallways and stuff. But, to my right I saw a faint light which I hoped was a way out of this hell-hole. I decided to go right hoping I would find some food and a way out. For about a good ten minutes I walked down the broken, empty halls of the hospital I used to go to for all of my medical needs. I could tell that something bad had happened, because there were large black marks over large areas of the walls and floor. It made me want to cry, most of the area I was in had once been a children's hospital. I shuddered at the thought of all the young children who may have died here when everything went to hell.

Eventually I reached the source of the light I had seen earlier, and looked up. I could see an empty elevator shaft with a ladder on the far side of the long sleek tube. If I was going to get out through this way, it was going to be one helluva jump. I put Wolfie in the breast pocket of my scrubs and backed up in order to get a running start. Once I reached a distance of about ten feet I broke into a sprint and jumped at the edge of the doorway. As my heart raced, I reached out and grabbed the ladder, hitting the wall hard. I involuntarily groaned, as I felt the air leave my chest in protest to the impact. I caught my breath and climbed the ladder until I reached thee hatch at the roof of the hospital and pushed it open.

Light flooded the dark lifeless building as I climbed out into the sun. As I closed the hatch to the roof, I noticed I was in the middle of what looked like a road. Dazed and confused, I just stood there in amazement as I saw so many lights and people walking around. I was busy taking in what I was seeing when I heard a voice yelling at me from behind. I turned around to see what I could only describe as a police officer in black and silver armor with an orange-tinted welding mask on his head.

"Hey, kid! Did you hear me?" the police officer asked me.

I looked at him confused. "No, I'm sorry. What did you say sir?"

"I said, 'get out of the road!.' You're holding up traffic!"

I turned around and indeed there was a huge line of vehicles behind me, waiting for me to move. I raised my hands up in an apologetic way and jogged over to the cop. As I got closer, he raised the shield of his helmet, revealing a man no older than 30 with a slim moustache and green eyes.

"Hey, are you okay, you seem kind of out of it?" he asked me with a face that showed great concern.

I looked around trying to fully understand where I was, and _where_ I was. From what I could tell I was still in Iowa City, because I saw an extremely tall building with what resembled the hospitals old logo on the front. As I began to understand where I was I saw it. Across the street I saw a small metal stand with a bunch of small screens on it with an electronic picture with a word on it that about made me shit my pants. On the screen it said: "UNSC: Join today, Defy the Covenant!"

* * *

><p>I felt a hand grab my shoulder and shake me back into reality. I turned to see the police officer shining a light into my eyes.<p>

"Are you feeling alright, son?" he asked me.

I waved the light out of my eyes and looked at him with fear. "I'm not on any drugs officer. I need you to tell me what the date is please," I asked him with the most serious face I could.

He looked at me confused, but told me anyway. "It's, uh, May 17, 2545, why?"

My eyes went wide as he told me what year it was. According to him it was only twenty years into the war. Reach hadn't been found yet, but if I was right the SPARTAN-II project was still underway.

"Officer, where is the nearest UNSC outpost. I need to get there as soon as I can," I told him while remaining as calm as I could.

"That would be in Chicago, but if you really do need to get there, I really think you should come back with me to the station. Besides your, uh, hospital scrubs are not really what you want to be wearing out in public," he told me as he looked me over with a small grin.

I looked down at my current attire and realized he was right. These five hundred year old scrubs weren't what someone would wear outside. I agreed to go with him and he walked me over to his police cruiser and opened the door. I thanked him as we entered the vehicle and buckle myself in. As I straightened my clothes I felt a horrible pain in my stomach and bent over in pain as I realized that I hadn't eaten since I had woke up.

The police officer looked over at me and realized what was wrong. "You hungry, kid?"

I looked up at him and nodded as I held my stomach. "Yeah, it's been a while since I ate," I said, chuckling. In truth it had been five centuries since I had eaten anything at all.

"Well, I guess, we could stop and grab a burger on the way," he said as he started the car. "Tell you what, why don't you tell me where you got that outfit of yours on the way, that way if anyone asks you have something to tell people?"

"I guess, besides it might help me if you could tell me about stuff I missed."

"Missed?" he asked, looking at me funny.

"It's a long story..."

* * *

><strong>Hey, everybody! Here's chapter three, probably the longest yet. But now I'm up and around and I know it isn't really at an important year in the Halo story, but it's all part of the plan... (devilish grin emoticon)<strong> **Anyway, as always, please remember to leave comments. Oh and I will be taking a small break in order to work on some other personal things but I won't be gone long.** **THANKS!** **SR**


	4. Eventually, Everything Goes Downhill

**May 17,2545**

"Wait a minute. So let me get this straight. You were born in the year 1996, and you're only eighteen years old?"

I looked at the police officer who had volunteered to take me to the nearby police station, and was generous enough to grab me a burger, or two. Luckily, even though I was 500 years into the future, there was still some familiar fast food restaurants, like McDonald's. He looked at me with a face of utter disbelief. In the last twenty minutes I had taken the time to explain when and where I was from. I also told him what had happened to me. He continued to stare at me intermittently as he drove through Iowa City. I simply returned the expression by giving him a cheeky grin.

"Umm, yeah?" I replied.

"But you do realize it's been over 500 years since you went in that recover thing you described?"

"Yeah. Well, unless I'm dreaming. But I'm pretty sure that if this were a dream, this cheeseburger wouldn't taste as good as it does," I said with a smile while waving the sandwich I was eating.

"Ha, yeah, you're probably right, but wait. That would make you at least 530 years old, you know that right?"

All I could do was stare blankly out the windshield of the car. He was right, I was over 500 years old. My friends and family were gone. I mean, sure I had Wolfie, but he was a stuffed animal for crying out loud. I was never going to celebrate another birthday by playing video games with my brother all day. And I was never going to be able to spend a Sunday morning with my mom drinking coffee and eating donuts, either. For all intents and purposes, I was all alone.

The police officer looked over at me, obviously he could tell that what he had said was bothering me.

"Are you okay, bud?"

I continued to stare out the window as I thought, but after realizing that I would only get depressed by thinking about it, I replied. "Yeah, I'm fine. By the way I never got your name, officer."

"Oh, sorry. I'm Officer Jason Bell, Iowa City Police Force. At your service..." he trailed, probably since I hadn't introduced myself either.

"Just call me Aren," I put simply.

Officer Bell looked at me funny, like he thought I was joking. I simply stared back as he looked at me.

"Seriously? I wouldn't have named you that, no offense. You look more like a Bill to me."

I shrugged at his comment and chuckled. "Yeah, I guess, but that's not really my true name. My real name is Schyler, but that reminds me of my family and it's kind of depressing."

As we were getting into our conversation, the radio in the car went off.

_"All units, be advised we have a 10-15 in progress at West Benton and South Capital, assailant has blunt weaponry, Over."_

"This is Officer Bell, I copy, en route to location, Over and Out."

With that, Officer Bell turned on the siren and we tore off into the city.

* * *

><p><span><strong>20 Minutes Later<strong>

As we arrived where the incident was, I could already see a man with a baseball bat standing in the middle of a parking lot yelling at anyone who walked past him. Officer Bell put his hand on my shoulder and looked at me an extremely stern face.

"Stay here, this could get bad. This guy looks a few fries short of a steak dinner, if you get my drift."

I nodded as he picked up his baton and got out of the car. But I wanted to hear what he was saying. So I rolled down the window of the car and leaned over so I could just barely hear him.

As Jason approached the ,clearly, raving lunatic, the man began to act more crazy.

"Stay back, dammit I will use this," he yelled at Bell. "You don't know what I know, so back off!"

"Hey, it's cool, man. Just put down the bat and you can tell me what you know." Apparently Bell knew what to do but I was still on edge about this guy.

"No, I am not putting shit down. You don't know what's gonna happen if you don't listen. The end is coming! Yeah. It's coming and the frozen kid's gonna bring it all tumbling down."

I continued to listen up until the point where he said 'frozen kid.' At that point I started looking for a gun, something told me this was going to get ugly, quick. As I searched the car, I heard the nut-job getting more violent. As I looked over the center console, I spotted a magnum under the armrest. I grabbed it just in time to see the man approaching Officer Bell. At this point I wasn't taking any chances. I burst out of the car and pulled back the slide on the gun and hid behind the car door.

"Back away, sir, I will used force if necessary," yelled Bell as the man got closer to him with his bat raised above her head.

"NO! You're just gonna shoot me, and THAT AIN'T HAPPENING!"

After that things went nuts and the guy sprinted to Officer Bell and began clubbing him with his bat. I knew that I was the only thing that was able to help, so I stood up and pointed the magnum at him.

"Hey! Over here, Bitch!" I yelled at the man and to my surprise he turned and stared at me.

"You're next, BOY!"

As he finished his threat I pulled the trigger and shot him in the leg. As the bullet entered his leg he dropped the bat and fell to the ground. I ran over to Officer Bell and helped him up. Thankfully, he only had a few welts on his arm. He walked over to the man and put him in cuffs as he spoke into his radio.

"This is Officer Bell, subject in custody. Be advised, shots fired, ambulance needed at my location."

_"Copy that, ambulance en route."_

Then Officer Bell walked over to me and took the gun.

"What the hell were thinking?"

I looked at him in shock. "You needed help. I was the only one who could, so I did."

He shook his head. "You could've shot me, you know," he paused and shook his head. "All that for a civil disturbance. Well, anyways, that was a nice shot."

"Thanks, hey can we go to the station yet?"

He just laughed at that. "Sure, just hang on we need to wait for the ambulance."

I sighed and took a seat on the hood of the car. "Fine..."

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! Sorry it took me a bit longer to get this chapter up, but I have had a bit going on.<strong>

**I have some news! From now on I am going to be doing something that another author is doing that I thought was cool. Okay, if you leave a review _and_ follow my story I will try and make an OC based upon you. BUT you need to leave a review in order for me to do so.**

**So as usual, feel free to leave a comment/review and tell me what you think.**

**As always, SR**


End file.
